Bruce County Regional report - Sun, 9 Dec 2001

   
Don McLaughlin and Betty Lamont identified a Harris' sparrow at their feeder
at dusk last night.  We observed the immature bird today from 1:30 to 3 pm
today.  It is a very handsome sparrow with the black coming in on the crown
and the breast, chestnut on the sides, and dark pink bill.

>From highway 21 go west to Inverhuron.  Turn right onto Victoria street,
then left on John street to #91.  After you park, go to the white house on
your left.  If Don and Betty are home you can observe the bird from inside
the house.  If not, the best view will likely be from the porch.  Look in
the pile of grape vines or near the rock at the base of the feeder.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County regional report - Fri, 7 Dec 2001

   
The club had a fun day yesterday as they located 35 species.  Highlights
were:
- dark gyrfalcon on Cape Chin road, north of Lion's Head
- flock of evening grosbeaks at a feeder on 40 Hills Road, north of Lion's
Head
- common loon in Tobermory harbour
- snowy owl on the Ferndale flats, south of Ferndale on east side of hwy.6
- coot in the Owen Sound marina harbour
- ring-necked duck and bonaparte's gull at Wiarton sewage lagoons
- large numbers of snow buntings
- all the expected ducks, gulls, hawks, etc.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County Regional report - Wed, 5 Dec 2001

   
Had an excellent view of an immature Golden Eagle as it cruised over the
fields at my house today.  Northern Shrikes have returned to the area.
Large flock of Redpolls visited my yard this morning.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County regional report - Tue, 27 Nov 2001

There are 2 Snowy Owls off County Road 3 between Burgoyne and Paisley.  The
first, found Sunday and completely white, is about 2 miles south of
Burgoyne.  The second is four miles north of Paisley.  It was located today
and has a large amount of dark streaking.

There are lots of snow buntings, redpolls, harriers, kestrels and
rough-legged hawks in the area.  White-winged crossbills are travelling
around to local feeders.  Large numbers of scaup, redheads, bufflehead and
goldeneye are on the lake.  A straggling black-bellied plover has been
hanging out at Miramichi Bay, south of Southampton.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County Regional report - Fri, 16 Nov 2001

There are 2 adult bald eagles on Chantry Island.  A snowy owl is reported in
the Chesley/Tara area.  Rough-legged hawks and snow buntings are everywhere.
Lots of winter waterfowl around.  Long-tailed duck, 2 horned grebes, 2
common loons, many bufflehead and goldeneye are all sharing Port Elgin
harbour.  Large numbers of hooded mergansers are on the inland lakes.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores

Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory - Sun, 11 Nov 2001

BPBO has completed the fall season and closed the station for the winter.
Over 4,000 birds of approximately 60 species were handled during September
and October.  A full report will be available to members at our Annual
General Meeting.  We thank Rainer Ebel, from Edmonton, for coming to work as
our bander-in-charge.  He did a great job and we gained from his past
experiences.  We also thank the volunteers who worked hard to assist in
daily migration monitoring and allow time off for Rainer.  Migration
monitoring will resume in April 2002.  Volunteers are needed and memberships
are available.

Cindy Cartwright
chair, BPBO

BPBO operates our migration monitoring station in the Cabot Head Nature
Reserve, on the northeast tip of the Bruce Peninsula.   We are dedicated to
bird studies.

Cindy Cartwright
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County regional report - Fri, 19 Oct 2001

 
The club went out yesterday and found 54 species.  An immature Red-headed
Woodpecker is hanging around in the Cabot Head area.  Some of the species
observed were:

Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Cormorant (1)
Redhead
Bufflehead
Goldeneye
Bonaparte's gulls
Great Black-backed gulls
Red-winged blackbirds
Rusty Blackbirds
large flocks of Horned Larks
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Yellowlegs
Pine Siskins
Pileated Woodpecker (1)

The club trip November 1st is cancelled.  We will resume on November 15th.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County regional report - Thu, 16 Aug 2001

The club located 74 species today at Isaac Lake, Wiarton sewage lagoons,
Lions Head, Black Creek Nature Reserve, Mar and Oliphant.
Highlights included: black-billed cuckoo, olive-sided flycatcher, chimney
swifts, brewers blackbirds, a bald bluejay (very odd looking) and hawks -
several sharpies attacking a kestrel, northern harrier chasing a spotted
sandpiper, merlin, osprey on a nest, red-tail, and a peregrine falcon
catching and eating an immature red-wing blackbird on a fence post across
the road from the van.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County regional report - Fri, 27 Jul 2001

There are 5 bonaparte's gulls in breeding plumage at Miramichi Bay (south of Southampton). Also many killdeer, semipalmated plovers, semipalmated sandpipers and one yellowlegs. Other shorebirds were out to far to identify.

The Bruce County Birding Club will resume outings on August 16th.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County Butterfly Count - Saturday, July 28th, 2001

The Bruce Peninsula Butterfly Count will be held on Saturday, July 28th. First held in 2000, this count is one of the many North American Butterfly Association (NABA) counts held across Canada and the U.S. each year. The count circle is centred on the west outflow of Crane Lake on the northern Bruce Peninsula and includes Cabot Head Provincial Nature Reserve, Bruce Peninsula National Park, Dorcas Bay, Miller Lake and Cape Chin.

Participants enjoyed a warm, sunny day last year as they located 32 species: Cabbage white, Mustard white, Clouded sulphur, Orange sulphur, Dorcas copper, Coral hairstreak, Eastern tailed blue, Great spangled fritillary, Atlantis fritillary, Aphrodite fritillary, Pearl crescent, Northern crescent, Question mark, Eastern comma, Gray comma, Mourning cloak, Red admiral, Painted lady, Monarch, Northern pearly eye, Appalachian brown, Eyed brown, Little wood satyr, Common wood nymph, Delaware skipper, European skipper, Long dash skipper, Northern broken dash, Dreamy duskywing, Peck's skipper, Tawny edged skipper, and Dun skipper.

Anyone interested in participating this year can contact Cindy Cartwright pom@bmts.com or meet us at 10 a.m. at the junction of highway 6 and Dyer's Bay Road, just north of Miller Lake. Bring your butterfly net, ziplock top sandwich bags, butterfly book and enthusiasm. Lunch is on your own - brown bag or there are several restaurants in the area. NABA fee is $5.00 We will end the day at Singing Sands with swimming (for anyone interested) and a barbecue, compliments of Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Rare bird alert in Wiarton - Mon, 18 Jun 2001

Dear Gord:

Last week on Mallory Beach Rd. just north of Wiarton someone I know spotted a Peacock. It was startled by a barking dog and flew to her roof. It even ate some seed that was thrown up to it. If you hear of anyone missing a peacock please contact me. It sat on the person's roof for 2 or more hours before flying off. Indigo buntings have also been spotted as well as the usual goldfinch, rosebreasted grosbeaks, cardinals, cat birds, red eyed verios, warbling vireos, yellow rumped warblers, great crested flycatchers.

Thanks

Susan Scherer
scherer267@home.com

Bruce County Regional report - Thu, 31 May 2001

The club held an extra outing this month, in conjunction with the Huron
Fringe Birding Festival.  13 participants enjoyed a day of birding at
Miramichi Bay, Horseshoe Bay, Southampton, MacGregor Point Provincial Park,
Baie du Dore and Inverhuron Provincial Park.  80 species were observed and
several people saw lifers on the trip.  The best birds were:
- virginia rail
- female wood duck with ducklings
- least flycatcher on a nest
- mourning warbler
- warbling vireo entering a nest
- scarlet tanager

The Huron Fringe Birding Festival continues this weekend at MacGregor Point
Provincial Park.  Peter Middleton is leading an afternoon trip on Friday,
starting at 2 pm.  Ross Snider, from Raptor Rehab, is the guest speaker
Friday night.  An all-day trip on the Bruce Peninsula, led by Ethan Meleg,
is planned for Saturday.  Test your birding knowledge with the Advanced
Birding Quiz following the hike on Sunday.  There are plenty of activities
to choose from over the weekend.  Check out the festival events listed at
www.friendsofmacgregor.org for more information.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Count'em - 3 glossy ibis - Fri, 25 May 2001

I went to Horseshoe Bay at 9 am this morning to check the glossy ibis that has been there since Monday. Imagine my surprise when I found 3 of them feeding on the mud flat! They're multipying faster than rabbits (and no, I wasn't drinking). What a great way to kick off the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, starting today at MacGregor Point Provincial Park.

Horseshoe Bay is located on the shore road between Southampton and Port Elgin, on the north side of McNab Point. The ibisss are in the northeast corner of the mudflats.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

More birds travelling thru Dundalk! - Mon, 07 May 2001

Hi Gord,

Well it sure has been a busy few weeks since I last sent you an email about the Swainsons Hawk. We had an American Kestrel pay us a visit a steal a sparrow. A tri-colored heron made a first time appearance usually its a pair of Great Herons which every year show up. White capped sparrows and rose breasted Grosbeaks and cedar waxwings all showed up within the past two weeks. On May 2 we had two male hummingbirds show up for 3 days I guess they were hungry from their long trip north. I am eagerly awaiting Mothers Day because for the past 6 years my female hummer has come like clockwork to our yard. We had a new visitor the Eastern Towhee was around for 4 days . This year has brought several new surprises to our property and as soon as my husband transfers the videotape of the Eastern towhee onto the computer I will forward the picture to you. Yes I finally bugged him to charge it up, I was so upset I didnt get the Swainsons hawk on tape! We had a red tailed hawk and a Goshawk show up as well but the crows chased them off! They are nesting in the tall Spruces and keep the predators away. Flickers and yellow bellied sapsuckers have made their way to us as well as our kingfisher, boblinks, tree swallows, goldfinches, white throated sparrow, song sparrow and the yellow rumped warbler. The kids are finally starting to recognize the birds and their songs as well which makes me proud. The more that people respect nature and learn about it the more inspiration they will receive in return.

Rina Fox
(Dundalk)
foxlocks@on.aibn.com

Gyrfalcon - Fri, 04 May 2001

Hello Mr. Gallant,

I am not sure how or to whom to report a sighting.

Date: Today, Friday May 04, 2001
Time: 12.15 pm
Location: 3rd concession road north of Highway 4, just east of Mulock Road on the south side (between Hanover and Durham).

Description:

As I was starting on my way back to Toronto after a morning fishing on the Saugeen River, a Gyrfalcon rose from the ground about 30-40 metres away, with a kill. I stopped the car but did not get out because I did not want to risk losing sight of it. I watched it for perhaps 20 or 30 seconds through the front windshield. The bird circled, gained altitude then flew over a treed knoll and vanished. I had no binoculars with me but did not need them. It was a white phase bird with feathers darker at the wing tips, which makes me confident that I did not mis-identify a Peregrine. I saw it from the side and below but had no view of the back. Pointy wings, long narrow tail. A huge, huge bird - my visual impression was maybe twice as massive as a crow. It is only my second sighting of a Gyr ever and I am so excited.

It was a Gyr for sure but I have to wonder what it is doing here at this time. I would think it should be in the arctic somewhere raising a family.

Best regards,

Yuji Sakuma
sakuma@sympatico.ca

Bruce County Regional report - Thu, 26 Apr 2001

The club went out and easily located 56 species today.  The weather was
perfect.  Highlights were:
- Blue Gray Gnatcatcher at MacGregor Point
- 7 Great Egrets on Chantry Island
- 3 pair of Northern Shovellers
- Eastern Phoebe carrying nesting material
- 5 Greater Yellowlegs at Horseshoe Bay
- Purple Martins at Port Elgin harbour
- Northern Rough Winged Swallow at Southampton harbour
- Brown Thrasher
- a pair of Common Loons displaying at Inverhuron
- Greater and Lesser Scaup at Kincardine sewage lagoons

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Wild Turkey (the bird, not the whiskey) - Mon, 23 Apr 2001

Date: April 22, 2001
Location: Niagara Escarpment 7-10 kilometers east of Collingwood (north
of Singhampton)
Conditions: mixed forest/brush/fields area

Due to the many eastern vultures along the entire escarpment, my first
inclination was that I had disturbed one, however I noted the following:

the bird was on the ground amongst brush and shrubs at the edge of a
field

a broad horizontal band of white and red tail feathers (not sure of the
official coloration)

the bird was noticeably 'stout', not bulky yet sleek like a vulture

it did one heck of a lot of obvious flapping to get airborne, not the
more methodical 'pulls' more common to larger prey/carrion fowl when
they take off

the bird flew in a large curve and proceeded along the edge of the field
and then back into the trees

Although I had heard there was a small population in Ontario, it was the
first time I had ever seen one. If they are there in any numbers,
hunters probably already know about them, but it'd be nice to keep it a
birder's secret.

All the best!

CRH
chrishna@angelfire.com

Swainson's Hawk - Wed, 11 Apr 2001

Dear Fellow Birders!

I had a most unusual visitor to my backyard! I think all the fog from the Big Melt of our huge amount of snow may have made this visitor appear. He landed for 20 minutes in my rose bush where he preened and fluffed himself up he then landed on the fence post. Of course he frightened the huge amount of birds that had been feeding in a frenzy! He was beautiful, my young son said he looks like an overgrown Robin! So true but it was the remarkable face markings and tail feathers that had me spellbound! What a truly stupendous creature! I marvel at these strong survivors and admire their tenacity. This occurred on April the 7th and was a sight I will never forget!

Rina Fox
foxlocks@on.aibn.com

---

Oops sorry about that Gord, I'm in Dundalk Ontario (Grey/Bruce). I know that they are very rare thats why I made sure I had my trusty bird books with me. I have the new Sibley's as well and there is no doubt that it was a Swainsons Hawk!

Rina Fox

Bruce County - Sat, 24 Mar 2001

Turkey vultures and broad-winged hawks have returned to the area. Snow buntings and rough-legged hawks are still around. Large flocks of robins, horned larks, grackles, cowbirds and red-winged blackbirds are here along with many meadowlarks, killdeer and bluebirds. Yesterday I saw a red-tailed hawk off hwy. 21 at Pine River that was as pale as the drawing of the Krider's hawk in the National Geographic Guide.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Thu, 22 Mar 2001

I had a beautiful view of an immature Golden Eagle today along Bruce rd.40 east of Dobbington. The eagle soared along beside the van at treetop level for about 3 miles, swooping once at a flock of starlings. The golden wash on the back of the head/neck was clearly visible as it circled once before continuing out over the fields at the T intersection on the Bruce-Grey line.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Wed, 21 Mar 2001

Bluebirds, meadowlarks and cowbirds have returned to the area. Large flocks of robins were observed the past 2 days. Only 2 adult bald eagles remain at Chantry Island, but they have been sitting on a nest - maybe they will stay?

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Mon, 19 Mar 2001

Rusty Blackbird in my yard this morning - nice view, and both singing and call note. Snow bunting flew over yesterday. Northern Shrike still hanging around daily.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Thu, 15 Mar 2001

The club enjoyed a beautiful spring-like day as we travelled from Chantry area to Rankin River, then south through the open fields in Chesley area and back to Port Elgin.

15 Great Blue Herons and 5 Bald Eagles were on Chantry Island (Southampton), 2 Pileated Woodpeckers were working the trees along the Sauble Parkway north of Southampton, Grackle and Red-winged Blackbirds were at Mirimachi Bay, and a Killdeer was heard near Hepworth. Starlings' bills are turning yellow and Horned Larks were everywhere.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Sun, 4 Mar 2001

Yesterday at MacGregor Point Provincial Park (south of Port Elgin) I
observed a flock of 10-15 cedar waxwings, a flock of 12 bohemian waxwings,
numerous golden-crowned kinglets, one brown creeper, house finches,
chickadees and goldfinches.  The park is beautiful in winter.

Cindy Cartwright for
The Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Fri, 2 Mar 2001

Today I saw a flock of 50+ bohemian waxwings at MacGregor Point Provincial
Park (south of Port Elgin).  There was also a beautiful cooper's hawk near
the park entrance.

I heard a pair of northern shrikes singing back and forth at my house
(county rd.3 north of Paisley).  I found one at the top of a tree but
couldn't locate the second one.

Cindy Cartwright for
The Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Fri, 2 Mar 2001

The club went out yesterday from Southampton to Owen Sound bay, down to
Dornoch and across country back to Port Elgin.
Of the 30 species observed, the highlights were:
- 3 bald eagles on the ice at Southampton harbour - it was snowing too hard
to see          Chantry Island
- several pairs of red-tailed hawks, one rough-legged hawk, and many
kestrels
- horned larks on the roads picking at the gravel
- a great horned owl calling
The Williamsford northern hawk-owl that has been so reliable was not
located.

Cindy Cartwright for
The Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Thu, 15 Feb 2001

Despite the beautiful day, the club only saw 21 species today.  Highlights
were;
- 23 Bald Eagles of various ages - 10 at Chantry Island Southampton, and 13
roosting in the trees on either side of Sideroad E/F between the 4th and 6th
of Bruce Twp
- Snowy Owl east of Dobbington on Bruce Rd.40
- over 20 Red-tail Hawks, many in pairs
- 3 Rough-legged Hawks
We did not see a single Starling today - there have been hundreds around for
the past month or more.

Yesterday - 6 Wild Turkeys in the 1st concession of Saugeen, and a flock of
50+ Waxwings on Bruce Rd.3 near the junction with Hwy.21

Cindy Cartwright for
The Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Sat, 3 Feb 2001

The club went out Thursday and observed 27 species. Highlights: Snowy Owl on Bruce Rd.40 west of Dobbington, Hawk Owl on Hwy.6 near Moto Park Rd south of Williamsford, 12 Bald Eagles - various ages (10 at Douglas Point near Tiverton, 2 at Chantry Island off Southampton), 2 Wild Turkeys, 6 Purple Finches - the first we've found this winter. Several thousand gulls followed 3 fishing tugs through the ice into Southampton Harbour including many Great Black-backed.

Cindy Cartwright for
Bruce County Birding Club
pom@bmts.com

Yesterday I was wandering around Essex County and saw my first Horned Larks of the year and a beautiful Northern Harrier. The ice on Lake Erie looks strange compared to Lake Huron, very flat like the surrounding land.

Bruce County - Wed, 31 Jan 2001

There have been 5 Snowy Owls reported in the area between Chesley, Paisley and Port Elgin recently.

There were over 500 Herring Gulls and 20+ Great Black-backed Gulls visible on Chantry Island (off Southampton) today. It was quite noisy and I'm sure there were more on the west side that weren't visible.

Several Mute Swans and Bald Eagles (both adult and immature) were present also.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Bruce County - Wed, 24 Jan 2001

January 23/01

Bald Eagles, Redheads, Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Mute Swans, Mallards and Common Mergansers at Chantry Island. Inland there are many Kestrels, Rough-legged Hawks, Red-tails and Shrikes. There have been several reports of Snowy Owls north of Paisley in the open fields, but I haven't been able to relocate any lately. Nobody has reported winter finches at their feeders. The Northern Hawk-owl is still reliable off hwy.6, south of Williamsford, near Moto Park Rd.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com

Hawk Owl south of Owen Sound - Sat, 20 Jan 2001

Hi birders,

It was a beautiful day for driving, so I headed north towards Owen Sound. I located the HAWK OWL that was reported earlier this winter just south of Williamsford on Highway 6. Before finding it, I drove around for about 20 minutes and saw 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Rough-legged and a Shrike, then started heading south on hwy 6. Looking into the sun, the silouette of an owl-like bird alighted in a tree on the east side of the road. Sure enough it was the Hawk Owl.

Location: The Owl landed in a large tree on the east side of the highway between Moto Park Rd, and Sideroad 8 just south of the village of Williamsford on hwy. 6 (about 20 km south of Owen Sound). To be exact, the tree was about 0.4 km north of Sideroad 8.

Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net

Bruce County - Sat, 6 Jan 2001

2 adult Bald Eagles, 5 Mute Swans, many Bufflehead, Goldeneye and Common Mergansers at Chantry Island (Southampton). If anyone needs a crane on their winter list, there is one at the Southampton harbour - lifting out the fishing boats.

There are 10-15 Hooded Mergansers in Owen Sound Bay, along with the expected winter waterfowl and 1 Coot. Also Ring-billed, Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls on the ice in the bay.

The Hawk-owl is still near Williamsford - highway 6 just south of Moto Park Road. Lots of Red-tails and Rough-legged Hawks around, a few Kestrels and Shrikes, and hundreds of Crows and Starlings.

Cindy Cartwright
Saugeen Shores
pom@bmts.com